Arranged by John Abbott & Dave Mullaney
Recorded at Allegro Sound Studios
Engineer: Bruce Staple
Produced by Laurie Productions / Phil Gernhard
Cover by Max Bodden
Picture by IDO
Liner Notes by Phil Gernhard
Images
Number:511081 THUMBNAIL Uploaded By:vidman45 Description: front cover
Number:511082 Uploaded By:vidman45 Description: back cover
In the fall of 1968, Dion was back in the top 10, on Laurie again with "Abraham, Martin and John", and this album followed. I picked up this album a few years later in a discount bin, and immediately noticed the odd label on it, with the company name absent. I am not sure if it is a bootleg, or if Laurie ran out of gold ink. Hopefully some label and cover variations will be added here.
This comment was moved from the notes by Lorangrecords.
The "deep groove" as on {Images #642413 & 642416} is actually in reference to the circular indentation in the label area (with RCA pressings, an outer diameter of approx. 2.8125" and inner diameter of approx. 2.71875"). During 1968 RCA's Indianapolis plant had their LP pressing dies re-tooled away from the deep grooves that dated to the 78 RPM era in the 1940's, towards a small 1" diameter pressing ring that was already on 7" 33⅓ RPM pressings that RCA plants turned out - and, on here, is seen on {Images #511083 & 511084}. Therefore, the "regular" Laurie label, in order of production, may or may not have preceded the plain yellow label.
(The changeover from deep groove to 1" ring would be applied to RCA's Rockaway, NJ plant in 1969, Hollywood in 1970, and Smiths Falls, Ontario around 1971.)
Interesting tidbit I found on an old album re: the "deep groove". That was part of the "Gruve Gard" system. Back in the mid 50's RCA was promoting this. The idea was the raised ring in the center and a raised edge around the outer edge were supposed to protect the grooves when the records were stacked on a changer
RCA Victor's Indianapolis, IN plant which pressed the {Images #511083 & 511084} variant, may have actually run out of Laurie LP label blanks at the time, hence their using generic yellow labels. At the time, they were the only plant amongst those owned and operated by RCA at the time, to use a 1" diameter pressing ring in the label area; Rockaway, NJ and Hollywood, CA both still had the old-style "deep groove" for a while longer - the former to fall 1969, the latter to fall 1970.
I've been to Sony Music archives, and in my research came across three-ring-bound books with mounds of LP and 45 label sheet proofs printed between December 1972 and April 1978 by CBS Records' Graphics Department. The Laurie LP label design's bleed measured 4.140625" (approx.), to fit the RCA label sheet template whose LP labels were stepped 4.15625" center-to-center. Except on the proof printed by Columbia, the aforementioned labels had been stepped 4.25" center-to-center.